Getting Started - A Quick Guide to Running SimCity 4 in 2012

[Tarkus]

To all the newcomers (and old-timers coming back) who are enjoying this great game, nearly a decade after its release, welcome to the new SimCity 4 General Discussion board at SC4D! 

A few questions that are sure to come up:

The old official EA SimCity 4 site is gone now.  Where can I pick up the official files, like the EP1 patch for Deluxe/Rush Hour, the BAT Nightlighting Patch, the BAT and Lot Editor tools, and bldgprops1-2.dat?

SC4 Devotion, with the permission of EA Maxis, has been hosting these patches for a few years now.  They can all by obtained by clicking the "EA Support" button on the sidebar, and agreeing to the End User License Agreement (EULA):



Please note that if you've picked the game up via Steam, Origin, or most other digital distribution platforms, your game is already pre-patched, and you're good to go.

Will this game run on modern operating systems, like Windows 7 and 8 (64-bit), with current-day hardware?

Yes.  It does require a little fine-tuning sometimes to get the right settings, typically changing the game's shortcut such that it'll use Windows XP SP3 compatibility mode, and adding a "CPUCount" line to the shortcut command line if you have a multi-core system.

This thread will be updated periodically to add more information.

-Tarkus

[WC_EEND]

Something I also want to add is that for SSD owners (especially those with large plugin folders) it is recommended to put your game and plugins on the SSD as it will speed up load times significantly thanks to higher read/write speeds of the SSD.

[Swordmaster]

Something I also want to add is that for SSD owners (especially those with large plugin folders) it is recommended to put your game and plugins on the SSD as it will speed up load times significantly thanks to higher read/write speeds of the SSD.

That's a useful thing to keep in mind. I'm looking at upgrading my system and it seems SSD is the way to go then.

Cheers
Willy

[NCGAIO]

But without forgetting to check some peculiarities about SSDs primarily for those holding a XP machine to run the game.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TRIM

[newcrusader92]

Not sure if this helps, but before I came across thread, I did stumble onto EA's revamped page for SC4 Deluxe and was able to get the EP1 patch there.

[wschmrdr]

I think I will add, in case anyone, like me, has become disappointed with Windows as of late:

The game will run in Linux so long as you are using WINE. The biggest thing of note is that you'll need to set the graphics to software rendering. I've also noticed, at least with Linux Mint 13, that you'll want to run the application using a terminal window, as a symlink or shortcut can be finicky (although I just happened to carry over my Wine folder from my previous drive; I did not do a fresh install). I would also recommend, for performance purposes, a stronger than default graphics card, because I did notice performance issues with the card that comes on the motherboard. Once in a while, you might see an explanation bubble flash, but just move your location focus in the game a little, and you'll be fine.

[kos1]

Yes.  It does require a little fine-tuning sometimes to get the right settings, typically changing the game's shortcut such that it'll use Windows XP SP3 compatibility mode, and adding a "CPUCount" line to the shortcut command line if you have a multi-core system.

Hello guys,

I have recently acquired  Simcity 4 Deluxe. After I installed it for the first time it worked great on the first day, on the second day the game would not even go pass the EA logo, it simply crashed to desktop. Since then I have tried every suggestion that was posted in the net about the CTD.

From: setting the affinity
-manually setting the resolution
-update new patches
-re-install the game
-installing the Quick lunch and even skip the intro
-tried various NAMs
-pretty much every suggestion that I could find here ins SC4devotion or in simtropolis 

When i skipped the intro it go to the region window and in 5 second it crashes backed to the window
I even checked to see if I have the latest driver for my video too.

If anyone here can help me resolve this issue will be greatly appropriated. I really want to play this game.

My computer specs:

Window 7 64bit
AMD Quad-core A6-3620 APU with Radeon HD 6530D graphic

[mr_hellmonkey]

If you can get to region view, and then it crashes, it sounds like a game issue.  Have you tried removing all plugins first and then trying to run the game?  You might have a bad plugin or something like that.

[kos1]

yes, i have deleted all plugin and tried too and no work. 

[SimEurocat]

I hate to say this cuz it makes me sound really out of the loop, but what is SSD?

[Indiana Joe]

I hate to say this cuz it makes me sound really out of the loop, but what is SSD?

There's this wonderful place where you can find out.

It's a Solid State Drive, a faster alternative to Hard Disk Drives.  Also those posts were from two years ago...